I agree the publishers are pushing the sales of their collected editions more than ever.

But offlate, I also see a trend that TPBs are being given a miss, and they are conecntrating more on releasing Hard Cover editions which are highly priced... Is this way to phase out TPB's and force the collector edition fans to shell more money out...

I will never understand this marketing gimmick, as a mere comic fan.... Gosh :(

If you need another exhibit: House of Mystery, where I paid the price for giving a new title a try in single issues.

No more. Not unless I am absolutely unable to wait (Marvel's indie comics creator project, for example) or unless I am finishing up an arc (like House of Mystery), or unless I don't want to see the book canceled (Power Girl, Spider-Girl).

I am so over single issues it's not even funny at this point. So much gets put in trade, why bother?

For the hardcover thing, keep in mind with so many discounts at book stores (sorry, comics shops), it's often quite reasonable to get the hardcover (see Y: The Last Man) these days.